


CHRISTMAS SPECIAL | Breaking the Ice

by Christarmewn



Series: Jirachi's Twin | BONUS STORIES (btyu & others ♥) [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Awkward Tension, Christmas, Common Cold, Crying, Embarrassment, F/M, Flashback, Flustered, Mild Teasing, Mistletoe, Nightmare, bad memories, falling, sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:27:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28604445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Christarmewn/pseuds/Christarmewn
Summary: Bede wakes up thinking it's a normal day of work, but realizes it's actually Christmas morning. A few minutes later he receives a text informing him about an ice skating activity and gift exchange being held at Gordie's house in Circhester. Even though he's reluctant to go, Opal forces him to socialize and hands him a mysterious box for the exchange.
Relationships: Beet | Bede & Yuuri | Gloria, Beet | Bede/Yuuri | Gloria, Kibana | Raihan/Rurina | Nessa
Series: Jirachi's Twin | BONUS STORIES (btyu & others ♥) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2095947
Kudos: 12





	CHRISTMAS SPECIAL | Breaking the Ice

Jirachi's Twin Timeline: (Present → Past)

  * **Jirachi's Twin Main Story**
  * Thanksgiving SP | You Are Precious
  * Charm and Intellect
  * **Consider a Friend**
    * Christmas SP | Breaking the Ice (between pt. 1 & 2) _(you are here)_



*Bold is a crucial chapter, indented bullet is nested within above chapter, italics is current location

* * *

She was crying.

The room was dark and silent, other than the pitiful sound of wet tears falling at the opposite end of the room. Bede blinked rapidly, searching blindly for the source of the sobs. He could tell the person crying was clearly a woman, based on the pitch of her squeaky hiccups. However, it was the voice itself Bede couldn’t seem to understand.

Familiar and bone-chilling, the sort of voice that demands attention with every whisper. It was a voice normally so clear and pronounced, the sound of her sobs was almost uncanny to listen to. It stung the insides of his eardrums.

“I really don’t mean to hurt you…” it whispered: “What more could I have done…?”

Bede’s eyes continued to strain as he took his first step towards the voice. His foot immediately landed on nothing—a space of empty air that dragged his weight below him into an pit somehow even darker than the room itself.

He opened his mouth, but his voice seemed to be locked. His vocal chords, though clearly vibrating, weren’t producing any sound whatsoever. Eyes now wide and his arms flailing, Bede frantically grasped at the empty air, but it was as if his invisible platform had disappeared.

The world descended into deeper and deeper darkness, her crying voice becoming increasingly louder by the second.

“I’m sorry, I—”

His eyes locked on the girl’s. It was only a millisecond, but a millisecond was all he needed to recognize her. Eyes wide and brown, hair long and ruffled like a chocolate waterfall, and that stunned frown—the one she made when she didn’t want to admit her own pain.

But then a loud screech flooded his ears, and the image spiraled out of his vision. His hands flew up to his ears instinctively, and light finally broke through his shut eyelashes.

Bede was in his bedroom. His back was pressed against the cold, hardwood floor, and his left ankle was tangled in a mess of blankets and sheets. At the opposite end of the room, his alarm clock was repeatedly screaming for him to wake up, and a cold, winter glow was filling the room through his half-open blinds.

 _A dream,_ he realized, relieving a deep, trembling sigh.

Cautious not to slip, Bede sat up and shuffled his foot out of the tangled blankets. Upon freeing himself, he grasped the corners of each sheet and carefully tucked them back into place on his bedspread. Then, finally tired of listening to his obnoxious alarm, Bede strode across the room and slammed his palm on the snooze button. After flicking the “off” switch also, Bede stretched his arms past his head and yawned.

“Ow—!” he winced.

The back of his head was throbbing from some sort of impact—likely when he’d fallen off of his bed. He rubbed it gingerly for a moment before finally snatching up his gym uniform from the floor.

 _What a dream…_ he marveled, approaching his doorknob, _I wonder what it was all about? Something felt familiar about it…_ his hand paused on the handle for a moment, _The girl—wasn’t that Gloria? I don’t know anyone else with brown hair like that, after all…_

Bede stared off into space momentarily before his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden coughing fit.

“Ugh…” he moaned, shaking away a dizzy spell. Not only was his head throbbing, Bede’s throat was also stinging with each inhale, _It seems I’m coming down with a cold… maybe I shouldn’t come to work today._

He blinked once, suddenly realizing he didn’t even know the time, _That’s right… what time is it again?_ he glanced at his alarm. It was eight o’clock in the morning—an hour _after_ he was supposed to be at the gym, _CRAP—I’m late! Opal’s gonna kill me!_

Horrified, Bede threw himself into the bathroom to get ready, and then shot down the stairs like a bullet. When he was at the front door, Bede threw on a pastel scarf and his winter-lined pair of hi-tops. Then, fumbling for his housekey, Bede locked the door and sprinted away from his secluded house in the woods.

The gym was not far—only about three minutes away at an average walking pace, but Bede couldn’t afford even a second of lost time. Even with his frozen breath flowing past him and his empty stomach growling in protest, Bede ran the entire distance to the fairy gym. When the building was in view, he passed the right side and halted when he’d reached the front doors. They were electric, so he had no reason to reach out and push them open.

However, a minute passed, and the doors remained shut.

 _What’s going on?_ he looked tiredly up at the glass, noticing a single piece of paper slapped onto it.

NOTICE

Ballonlea Stadium Holiday Hours:

December 24th: 8am – 7pm (Christmas Eve)

December 25th: CLOSED (Christmas)

December 31st: 8am – 7pm (New Year’s Eve)

 _When was this put here?_ he blinked incredulously at the sheet of paper and shook his head, _It’s not any of these days listed anyway—isn’t it? So why’s the building closed?_

“Bede, is that you?”

Bede turned quickly, and was relieved to see it was Opal staring back at him.

“Miss Opal,” he sighed, “Thank goodness you’re here… the gym’s closed for some reason, and I can’t get inside. Do you know what’s wrong?”

Opal raised an eyebrow at him, “What do you mean? Of course the gym’s closed! Don’t you know what day it is?”

Confused, Bede placed a hand on his chin and tried to remember, “It’s not Sunday, is it?”

Opal scoffed at the statement, “No, kid. You’ve got your dates wrong, is all.” she pointed to the paper on the door, “It’s Christmas! How could you forget something so crucial?”

Aghast at his mistake, Bede slammed his palm frustratedly into his forehead, “It’s Christmas!? I can’t believe I forgot! How did I not notice!?”

“Well, if I recall, you were too sick to work yesterday,” Opal reasoned, “When I checked on you, you were having such a bad fever dream, I reckon you didn’t even notice the day pass by.”

“I was?” Bede asked, “Well I suppose that explains the—” he was interrupted by an overwhelming tingle in the back of his throat. The sensation was enough to make him cough wildly into his elbow, and when the tingling passed, he was left quaking with his hands on his knees, “The sore throat…” he finished, sniffing once.

“Quite,” Opal responded quaintly, glancing up and down to ensure he was alright before turning her back, “Well anyway, I’m actually leaving Ballonlea to attend a senior breakfast being held at a church building in Stow-on-Side. You’re welcome to join, I suppose—though you’ll likely be the only teenager there…”

“I think I’m fine, thanks.”

She smiled smugly at his response, and started to step away, “I promise to give you your Christmas gift when I get back. In the meantime, go have some fun with the other gym leaders. I hear they’re all ice skating down at Circhester later this afternoon—and they’re also doing a gift exchange, if I remember correctly. Don’t miss it!”

“Wait—what time is it at?”

“I don’t know, I turned the invitation down. I’m too old for skating. Just check your smart phone—I’m sure they’ll e-mail you or something.”

 _You mean text…_ he sighed, “I guess I’ll check… bye Miss Opal.”

“Farewell,” she waved back, and then proceeded to step into her cab.

In the meantime, Bede crammed his fists into his short pockets, and began shuffling home in the snow.

 _Ugh… I knew I should’ve grabbed my coat,_ he chastised bitterly, coughing painfully as he re-approached his home.

When he was back in the warmth of his house, Bede instantly snatched a comforter off his nearby couch, and tossed it around his shivering shoulders. He sighed drowsily as warmth flooded back into his veins, and proceeded to cough once again as the incessant tingling returned.

Tired of standing, Bede flopped onto the couch and proceeded to stare silently at the ceiling.

_I was going to do something when I got back… what was it again?_

As silence filled the room, a quiet “ding!” suddenly rang through the air. He ignored it at first, trying to remember what he was supposed to be doing. As he pondered however, there were another two “dings!” that punched through his ears.

 _Ugh—who’s even texting me? I don’t know anyone—_ he blinked, _Oh yeah. Opal wanted me to go to the ice skating thing. I’m supposed to look up the details…_

He sighed drearily at the stairs.

_I really don’t feel like standing right now…_

Another “ding!” was enough to persuade him to stand. After all, there was no point resting on the couch when his phone would just keep stealing his attention. With one swift motion, Bede stepped into his room, grabbed his phone off his desk, and fell backwards onto his mattress to read his notifications.

It was a group chat filled with many numbers Bede didn’t recognize.

**Bea, and 10 others**

**Friday, Dec 25 8:22 AM**

**Raihan: hey can you guys all type your names cus i got a new phone. my old one broke**

**(Chairman) Leon: Wooow you’re so responsible Raihan**

**Raihan: shut up Leon. Talk to me next time you make it somewhere without somehow ending up in the neighboring region**

Following that thread were a list of complaints, as well as everyone’s names. Scrolling through the entries, Bede decided to take this chance to finally put everyone into his contacts. (He was too embarrassed to bother asking everyone for their information in person.)

**Nessa: So, getting back on topic, what time are we ice skating today?**

**Gordie: The ice skating will be from 6 to 8, and the gift exchange will be at my address from 8 to around 10ish. (depends on how long everyone stays)**

**Nessa: Thx Gordie. Who’s going to be there then?**

**Kabu: I can go to the gift exchange only.**

**Raihan: I’ll be there**

**(Chairman) Leon: Can’t make it, I have plans with my family. (Same goes for Hop)**

**Marnie: I’m going. Sounds fun**

**Piers:** **👍**

**Bea: I’m coming.**

**Allister: I’ll come too then if Bea’s there…**

**Milo: I’ll be there!** **😃** **Sounds exciting!**

**(Champion) Gloria Verity: I’m totally coming! I love ice skating so much!**

**Gordie: Great! I’m aware Opal can’t make it, so the only one left is Bede. Are you coming?**

Bede sighed as he read the text, and reluctantly typed his response.

**I suppose I don’t have any plans this Christmas…**

**Raihan: lol what a Bede way to respond**

***Marnie and two others liked this message**

**Gordie: So does that mean you’re coming?**

**I suppose it does, yes.**

**But I have a cold, so I might not ice skate for the whole time.**

**Marnie: Aww fairy boy got a little cold. I always thought your meanness somehow kept you immune**

**Shut up**

**Milo: Oh be nice Marnie! It’s Christmas, you know.**

**(Champion) Gloria Verity: I’m excited to see you Bede! It’s been a while since we last met up!** **😃**

Bede blinked incredulously at the message. It seemed completely arbitrary coming from Gloria. After all, the two weren’t exactly close. He considered his response for a moment, then typed out a few short words.

**I’m excited too**

But after staring at those words for a moment, he eventually deleted them and instead sent a single response:

**True**

_What was with that hesitation?_ he suddenly questioned, _It’s as if I wasn’t brave enough to send my initial response…_

**Gordie: Well, I’m excited to see everyone there! Without the league running, it’s harder to keep in touch with everyone.**

**Nessa: Yeah, I miss you guys.**

**Raihan: Aww, me too Nessa**

**Nessa: Oh shush—you know I wasn’t talking to you!**

**Raihan: But were you tho** **🙃**

 **Nessa:** **😑**

**Gordie: Aaaanyway, be at the Circhester ice rink at 6 y’all**

**Gordie: It’ll be fun!**

**(Champion) Gloria Verity: Sure! See everyone there!** **👋**

***Bea and 6 others liked this message**

* * *

Bede showed up at Circhester right at six o’clock, just as mentioned in the text. Upon arriving, Bede immediately turned right down a side path, and followed a flight of brick steps up towards the outdoor rink. When he was at the top, Bede caught eyes with Gordie and Bea.

“Ah, Bede! Glad you could make it, man.” Gordie greeted, stretching out his hand to shake.

“And naturally punctual, of course…” Bea added.

Bede just shrugged, “Naturally I came. After all, I was invited on an open day of mine. I wouldn’t be so rude as to step out when I have no clear excuse…” he glanced at Gordie’s hand and held up his hand in disagreement, “I have a cold still… best not to risk spreading it.”

“Oh that’s right—you did mention that,” Gordie retrieved his hand, and instead held up his elbow, “but I just can’t go without some kind of handshake, yanno. C’mon—give me some!”

Bede simply sighed, and awkwardly bumped elbows with him. It was the most he could do to comply with Gordie’s energetic nature.

“Anyway, the others should be here soon. It’s almost time to start, after all.”

“Speaking of which Gordie—how did you get this place reserved on Christmas? Shouldn’t it be closed?” Bea asked.

“Well it normally is, but I negotiated with the owner to see if we could skate here without anyone supervising. I promised we’d bring our own skates and everything so he wouldn’t have to worry about us stealing them, and eventually he agreed to let us in! Just as long as we lock the gate on our way out.”

“Wow—that’s very resourceful of you…” Bea marveled, “but hold on a moment—did you say _our own skates?_ Because I certainly didn’t bring any—all I have is my exchange gift.”

“Oh—don’t worry about it! I bought all the skates we need. They’re sitting in the back of my truck over there,” he pointed to a white vehicle, and Bea sighed.

“You bought ten pairs of skates…? Goodness…”

“Oh relax! I’ll sell ‘em online when we’re done with them.”

The two continued to chat while Bede stood awkwardly to the left with his exchange present in hand. Bored, he glanced down at it to examine the wrapping paper. Earlier that day, Opal had visited Bede to drop off a few Christmas presents for him. Along with those three gifts, she also dropped off a bonus present in which she claimed was for the gift exchange.

The wrapping was stiff around the edges of a cardboard box, and was a deep shade of shimmering, magenta foil. It was also very lightweight—weighing no more than a small pillow, perhaps. When he shook it, it made very little sound. All he could feel in his palms, was a quiet thudding of something soft on the inside.

“Aay, what’s up Gordie!?” Raihan suddenly appeared, waving as he scaled the brick steps.

The two immediately gave one another a secret handshake of sorts, and began to converse. Shortly after Raihan appeared, Marnie and Piers also came climbing up the stairs.

“Sorry we’re late— _this_ one misplaced his coat, and we had to go searchin’ for it for at least thirty minutes…” Marnie grumbled, shaking her head.

“Sorry—I swear I’d hung it up ‘n the closet. Wasn’t expectin’ it t’ be in your room…”

Pretty soon, everyone else came trudging up the steps just as Bede had—each of them holding a present under their arm. After Marnie and Piers arrived, Allister, Milo, Nessa, and Gloria came walking up, with excited grins on their faces. (Except for Allister, who was of course wearing his spooky mask.)

“B-Bea!” Allister suddenly cried, and darted up the last few stairs to give her a hug.

“Oh hey there, Alli,” a warm smile suddenly flooded Bea’s cheeks as she gave the young gym leader a soft hug, “Glad you made it bud!”

“Mmm,” was all he managed as he buried his face in her arms.

“You’re here!” Bede turned to see Gloria waving at him a few steps away.

“Oh—hi Champion. Yes, of course I—” he coughed once, and turned to hack repeatedly into his elbow for a moment.

“Wow you weren’t kidding about that cold, were you?”

Sniffing once, he cleared his throat, “O-of course not… apparently I was out cold the entire day yesterday. Opal said it was a bad fever dream.”

“A fever dream? Yeesh Bede, that sounds more like the flu. Maybe you shouldn’t be here after all.”

“I appreciate the concern, but I’m mostly fine. If it weren’t for this sore throat, I’d say I’ve just about recovered, honestly.” Bede sighed, shaking his head.

Interrupting their conversation, Gordie’s voice suddenly broke through the air, “Alright—is everyone here?” he scanned the area briefly, then started speaking again, “Okay! So! I need all of you to follow me for a moment, if you will. My house is just a minute’s walk from here, so let’s go ahead and drop off our gifts for the exchange.”

The group of gym leaders all turned to follow Gordie to his front porch, and waited momentarily as he clicked open the door. When they entered, Gordie turned left and showed everyone into the front room. Then they all dropped off their gifts, and marched back up to the ice skating rink shortly afterwards.

Back at the truck, Bede shivered once as he slid on a pair of ice skates. Even though he was wearing a coat, his fingers were still shaking from the cold.

“Are you alright?” Gloria asked, skates already tied and ready for use.

Bede grunted, “I can’t seem to get—” he coughed, “Get these stupid skates on… my fingers are shaking too much to tie the laces.”

“You’re _that_ cold? Strange… I thought today felt kinda warm for December…”

Bede rolled his eyes, and she knelt down in the snow next to him.

“Want me to tie them for you?”

He blinked, then turned to look her in the eyes.

It was a mistake.

Her face was only a foot away from his—brown eyes glinting as they reflected the white snow. She was so close to him in this moment, he could smell her perfume—water lilies, and could see the little black flakes of mascara around her eyelashes. His breath hiked at the sudden realization of their proximity, and he instantly turned away.

“Sure…” he mumbled, retrieving his hands into his pockets.

As she leaned forward to tie his skates, for some reason Bede found his heart racing. Something strange had happened just then—a fluttery, uncertain feeling that dominated his senses. He couldn’t tell if it was his normal feeling of nervousness when he was close to people—especially girls, or if it was something else.

Especially since he’d noticed, in this moment of closeness, that Gloria was actually quite gorgeous.

 _When did she start wearing make-up? I thought she said it didn’t suit her…_ he glanced at the fluffy, tan parka she was wearing, and found his eyes lingering for a moment on her chest, _Has she… grown a bit there?_

“Done!” Gloria announced suddenly, startling Bede as her hands released his shoe laces, “Should be nice and tight for the whole night! Hey, that rhymed, haha.”

Bede stiffened quickly, shocked at the thought that had just intruded his mind. His cheeks suddenly flooded red, and he felt the need to pull his distance further away from her.

“Th-thanks,” he managed, coughing once—though his throat wasn’t hurting this time.

“Sure!” she stood up, “I’m going to join Marnie on the ice. Feel free to tag along if you want.”

Too embarrassed at himself to respond, Bede simply nodded to her as she stepped out onto the rink. When she was out of his vision, he placed a quaking hand over his heart. It was thrumming wildly—like a stampede of angry Butterfree fluttering around in his ribcage.

 _What was that—that feeling just now?_ he gawked, eyebrows knitting in confusion, _Has something changed since the last time I saw her?_

He recalled their previous encounter at the Galarian Star Tournament. He had just stormed off the field and wandered to the other end of the stadium, when he’d suddenly overheard shouting from the prep lobby. When he peeked inside, he caught Gloria and Hop mid-argument, yelling angrily about something Bede had no context to.

Since he had no information, Bede never stepped in—never attempted to console Gloria, or track down Hop himself. Rather, he listened, waited, and headed for the exit because he didn’t feel right about butting in. The only words of compassion he’d given Gloria, were minutes before he entered his taxi and flew home.

“ _I hope tomorrow goes better for you,”_ he’d said, _“Frowns like that don’t suit you well, you know?”_

Ever since then, she started waving to him in passing. She’d flash him quick smiles, occasionally giving him a verbal: “Hi Bede!”, and even rarer than that, sometimes invite him for coffee—but he always turned her down because of his work.

Now, with her standing in front of him, Bede felt conflicted about what he should say or do. He wanted to get to know her better—that had become his goal after she’d beaten him in the league earlier that year. Yet, his introversion and his pride were continuously getting in the way of that.

Finally getting ahold of his bearings, Bede managed to stand up. He swayed momentarily, realizing he was in skates and not his normal shoes, then stumbled towards the rink’s gate.

 _I’ll figure something out one of these days,_ he decided, and glided onto the ice with his left leg forward.

* * *

Skating was fun. Though he hadn’t done it in a number of months, Bede found he was able to re-learn the movements rather quickly. Within the first hour, he was gliding across the ice without a problem—even skating backwards on occasion or doing short spins.

“Dang it Bede, how are you so good at this!” Raihan shouted frustratedly as he passed him for the fourth time in a row.

“You expected otherwise?” Bede grinned back, “A person as refined as myself can’t afford to fumble about like you. Imagine the horror if my Pokémon battles were even reminiscent of your current state!”

Raihan, unable to provide a decent comeback, just flipped the bird at him as he fell to the ice the third time that evening. Bede just cackled at the notion.

“Woah Bede! You’re really good!” he turned, finding it was Gloria who had complimented him. She was standing at the edge casually next to Marnie, who seemed to be quaking even worse than Raihan as she gripped the edge.

Deciding he wanted to show off, Bede charged up to her with his scarf billowing behind him, and then braked seconds before crashing into the two of them. His skates grinded the ice, resulting in a spray of powdered ice to come shooting up at their faces.

“Show off!” Marnie yelled angrily.

“Yeah—but don’t scare me like that please! I was scared you’d lost control of your skates for a second there…”

Bede smirked again, “I can’t help it. I love the ice.”

“Since when!? You live in a _forest_ if I recall—when d’ya get the chance to skate!?” Marnie shot back, still gripping the railing.

“I come here occasionally to do it,” Bede shrugged, “When you’re as introverted as I am, you tend to gravitate towards the ‘single-player sports’, if you would,” he glanced at Gloria, who wasn’t having any trouble staying up at all, “Speaking of skating, how’ve you been holding up Champion? I reckon you’re at least better than Marnie—judging by the way you’re not clinging to the railing like a toddler.”

“Hey!”

“Well, I’m _decent_ I suppose, but I’m honestly just helping a friend out. Marnie’s never done this before, so I figured I’d help her learn.”

“How kind of you,” Bede mused, “Although if I recall, the point of skating is to, well, _skate._ There’s only about an hour left until the gift exchange, so you should consider gliding around on your own before time runs out.”

Gloria considered it for a moment, “Well I _can,_ but…” she glanced warily at Marnie.

“Gloria, as much as he gets on m’ nerves, he’s got a point. Go ‘ave fun—don’t worry about me for a bit, I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

She paused one more moment, then nodded in agreement, “Alright fine. I’ll be skating around then.”

She pushed off the rail with her palms, then quickly spun on her heels to face Bede head-on.

“See you on the ice, Bede!” she grinned, and then suddenly took off in the opposite direction.

“What—hey! I thought you said you were only _decent!_ ”

She just laughed—though not as teasingly as Bede had done minutes ago.

Gloria was very quick—able to weave through the other gym leaders with ease as her slim body careened her forward. Being light was exceptionally helpful as she picked up more and more speed. Bede, who had always focused on grace, wasn’t used to the way she zipped around at Mach 1, and found himself struggling to keep up.

“Hey—not fair!” he shouted furiously, “I wasn’t aware you were this good!”

She grinned over her shoulder, and once again slipped past him.

“Champion!” trying to catch up, he strained the muscles in his legs more than before to match her speed, “Honestly—you’re so—” but as he tried to speak, the tiny tickle in his throat returned and he found himself once again distracted by a horrible coughing fit. As he sputtered for air, Bede’s balance was suddenly swept away and he found himself careening down to the ice in front of him.

He reached out, able to notice Gloria’s pale look of shock before he crashed to the ground like a bag of sand.

“Bede!” she shouted, instantly turning around to check if he was hurt.

“Ugh…” he complained, sitting up so he could massage his right arm, “That hurt—” he coughed again, “I think that’s going to leave a mark…”

“You didn’t break anything did you?” she asked, biting her lip in concern.

Wincing as involuntary tears stung his eyes, Bede rubbed his forearm, but concluded it was bruised and not broken.

“I’ll be fine… I just need to sit down for a bit.”

“I bet. Falling like that really knocks the wind out of you…”

“Yeesh Bede—if my battles were as clumsy as that, It’d be a disaster show,” Raihan piped up from the background.

Glaring over his shoulder at him, Bede managed to stand back up despite the slipperiness of the ice. As he was doing so however, he noticed Gloria’s hands reach to grab Bede’s shoulders—cautious of him slipping again.

“Let go, let go!” he responded sharply, flicking away her hands out of instinct.

Worried she’d somehow hurt him, Gloria tore her hands away from his shoulders and brought them back to her sides, “Eep—sorry! I just wanted to make sure you didn’t fall…”

Realizing he’d been rude, Bede shook his head, “No… it’s just—” he hesitated.

_Why did I shrug her off so quickly, anyway?_

“You touched a sore spot, is all,” he lied.

“Ah… sorry then. I’ll just stand here then.”

Avoiding Gloria’s gaze, Bede glided over towards the bleachers and sat down. Up until nearly the end of the hour, he remained there—too whiplashed from his fall to continue. The excitement and dopamine he’d collected while skating around the rink melted away, and Bede slowly returned to his usual, bitter self—only now cold because he was no longer moving around.

He coughed into his fist, sending a tiny puff of white air in front of him as he shivered on the wooden bench.

 _I reckon this whole activity hasn’t been kind to my cold…_ he realized, withdrawing a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his raw nose, _I’ll probably need a break tomorrow too._

“Hey Bede,” a voice suddenly appeared from behind him, and he noticed Gordie was standing next to his truck with his skates in hand.

“What is it?”

“Well I happened to notice your fall back there…” Gordie shrugged, “And on top of that, you’ve got a cold, so I was wondering if you’d like to go ahead and come to my place. I need to leave now to help my mum finish the desserts, so if you want I can let you in to warm up and have cocoa or something.”

“Ah, thanks for the offer,” Bede stood up, brushing a snagged sliver of wood from off his jeans, “I’ll take it.”

“I figured you would. Come and drop off your skates, and I’ll unlock the house for ya.”

As directed, Bede stood up and shuffled out of the bleachers back onto the ice. Then, gliding towards the exit gate, Gloria once again approached him like before.

“Leaving?” she asked, “We haven’t even had the gift exchange yet…”

“Oh—no I’m just stopping at Gordie’s to warm up. This weather isn’t good for my cold.”

“Ah… well in that case,” Gloria followed Bede out of the gate and began untying her shoe laces, “I’m coming with you two, if you don’t mind. I was skating too fast out there and got a bad blister on my ankle…”

Popping off her skate, Gloria rolled up her pant leg to reveal a raw abrasion on her skin where the skate had been rubbing. Bede winced at it, understanding that pain well himself.

“In that case, yeah. You should stop too.”

They left the rink as a group of three, and descended down the slight slope that led to Gordie’s house. Once they were inside, Bede and Gloria let out sighs of relief as warmth returned to their shivering bodies.

“I’m just going to sit down in the front room here and wait for everyone else to get back,” Bede mumbled, turning into the room so he could plop onto the couch.

“Fine by me,” Gloria shrugged, “Want me to grab you some hot chocolate?”

He sat up quickly, his interest suddenly piqued at the suggestion, “Oh yes—” he caught himself.

Bede was aware he had a rather prominent sugar addiction, but always felt self-conscious about others figuring it out. Rather than blatantly agree, he cleared his throat, stood up, and re-worded his response.

“Actually—on second thought, I’ll grab some for myself. Just so I can warm up, of course.”

Following Gloria into the kitchen, the two acquaintances were immediately greeted by Gordie’s mother, Melony, who was stirring a fresh pot of hot chocolate as they entered.

“Ah, if it isn’t the Champion!” she smiled sweetly, “Oh and don’t tell me—you’re the fairy gym leader Bede, right?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Ah, I knew it! How lovely of my son to invite such honorable guests into our household.”

_Whatever that means._

“Hi Miss Melony! Is that hot chocolate I smell?” Gloria asked, inhaling the delicious aroma.

“Yup! Decided I’d make my special brew for our guests. After all, Galar’s star trainers deserve only the _finest_ of fine cocoas. Would you two like to try some?”

“Absolutely,” Bede nodded, a bit too eager as he snatched a Styrofoam cup off the counter.

Once she poured the liquid into his cup, Bede proceeded to add hot fudge, caramel, and whipped topping into the drink as well—so excited, he forgot to ask if he was even allowed to use them.

“I think those were for later Bede,” Gloria commented, noticing the six centimeter tower of whipped topping now floating on his drink.

He stared down at his cup, and red dashed across his cheeks, “Oh.”

Melony laughed, “Oh—don’t worry about it at all! It’s not like we’ll run out of toppings or anything. Besides, it’s Christmas! Have as much as you like.”

“Th-thanks ma’am…” he sighed, frustrated at his own lack of self-control.

As he turned to exit the kitchen, Bede noticed Gordie carrying a large, blue tub of Christmas ornaments. He was also opening a door that led somewhere downstairs—likely a basement.

“Isn’t it a bit early to be putting away decorations?” Bede asked.

“Huh? Oh—these are just extras,” he leaned forward a bit to whisper, “Mum gets a bit excited when it comes to decorating, and sometimes buys too much stuff. I’m just putting away the leftovers.”

“I see…”

Gordie proceeded down the steps, and Bede exited the hall to finally relax again on the couch facing the window. With a sigh, he happily enjoyed the caramel-fudge mixture of flavors that met his tongue, and closed his eyes for a moment to extend his enjoyment further.

As he slowly reopened them, however, he realized his delicious drink had been completely expended.

 _Dang… would it seem greedy if I got seconds?_ he wondered.

Then his eyes landed on the gift exchange presents.

_There’s a lot of them. I wonder how many?_

In his head, he counted all of the presents he could see—one for each person who’d come.

 _…seven, eight, nine presents. Sounds right. Right?_ he paused, _Wait… aren’t there ten people here? Not counting Kabu who’s coming later of course…_

He looked again, but counted only nine.

_One’s missing._

His eyes searched for his magenta box, but it was nowhere to be seen.

_MINE’S missing!_

He stood up, frantically flipping over some of the gifts in search of his own, but found nothing.

_Where did it go!?_

The front door opened as he was looking, and his ears were met with the excited chatter of the other gym leaders as they entered Gordie’s house. Bede stood up, his eyes wide with confusion as he paced around.

_Where did I put it—_

“Bede, what’re you doing?” Gloria asked suddenly, drawing his attention to her face.

“Ah—Champion,” he placed a frustrated hand on his head in disbelief, “I can’t believe it, but I appear to have misplaced my gift! I’ve looked all over, but I just can’t find it.”

“Your gift?” her eyebrows knitted worriedly, “Oh dear… I don’t know where it could be other than here.”

Noticing the two were panicked, Gordie popped his head around the corner to check on them.

“Is something up? We’re ready to start passin’ out the desserts—”

“Bede can’t find his exchange gift.”

Gordie’s eyes widened in surprise, “He can’t? Where’d it go?”

“I don’t know!” Bede protested angrily, “I left it here— _right_ here! Ugh—where did it go!?”

“Right there?” Gordie paused, rubbing his chin in thought, “Hmm… what color was it exactly?”

“The wrapping was pink, and it was about this big.” he displayed the size with his hands.

“And it’s none of those?” Gordie asked again.

Bede shook his head, “It can’t be. Mine’s the only one that didn’t have a name on it.”

“Wait you didn’t put your name on it? Why not?” Gloria asked.

“Opal gave it to me and told me to put it in the exchange. She didn’t label it, and I don’t know what’s inside either. I just know what color it is.”

“Well if there’s no label, there could be a chance I accidentally put it in the decoration bin…”

Bede and Gloria turned to face him.

“The blue bin you were holding? Why would you put it in there?”

“Mum wrapped some empty boxes as decorations and put them everywhere. I picked up some that I thought were extra—who knows, yours might’ve been in there.”

“Ugh—seriously?” Bede sighed impatiently, “Fine. Guess I have no choice but to look then.”

“I’m sorry, you should’ve labeled it Bede…” Gordie sighed, “I’m grabbing some dessert. If you’re really going to look down there, the bin is blue and I placed it in the far left corner of the room. You can’t really miss it.”

“Thanks,” Bede stepped out of the room and approached the door, “I’ll take a look.”

“Bede—wait!” falling into step beside him, Gloria joined Bede at the entrance of the basement, “If you look alone, it’s probably going to take you a while. Let me help!”

He glanced warily at her, noticing the concerned look in her eyes. It was an expression that he was aware would not take “no” for an answer. Thus, he sighed, and began descending down the stairs.

“Fine. Just don’t get in the way.”

As they crept down the stairs, the hallway slowly grew darker and darker. With each step, Bede could hear Gloria becoming increasingly cautious, and turned for a moment to ask if something was wrong.

“You fine back there?” he asked.

“Huh? Me?” she paused, “O-of course! Why would something be wrong?”

“Just checking…”

_She’s definitely acting odd._

Upon reaching the bottom, it became blindingly obvious what was wrong. Gloria’s hesitance said it all as the room turned pitch black.

“Alright Champion—what’s wrong?”

Flustered, she glanced hurriedly to her left and right sides, “Why do you keep asking? There’s nothing wrong—”

“Oh cut it out. You’re clearly off-put by something. What is it?”

She crossed her arms and turned away childishly, “There’s really nothing wrong! Honestly…” she paused, and he waited silently for more, “It’s just… you could’ve turned the light on first…” she mumbled.

“Turned the light on?”

The clarification made her jolt with embarrassment.

Bede grinned, realizing he’d found what was bothering her, “Oooh so you’re scared of the _dark._ Is that all?”

“It’s not that I’m scared of the dark!” she shouted, “I just don’t like it when it’s pitch black in an unfamiliar room…”

“You’re free to go back upstairs then.”

“What? No! I can’t leave now—you’ll never let me hear the end of it!”

_She’s got a point._

“Then c’mon already. There’s only a few more steps anyway.”

But her hesitance was worse than before. Rather than descend into the black room, she shifted shyly on the stair she was standing.

“C-can I at least… grab your arm or something? Just so I know you’re here?”

He blinked incredulously at her, “Grab my—you realize we don’t really know each other very well, right?”

She remained quiet, and Bede just sighed.

“Whatever. I don’t care anyway.”

“Thanks…”

Her hand stretched forward and carefully collected the fabric of his sleeve into her fingertips. From there on, Gloria didn’t complain, but their descension was still awkward as ever as the two finally stepped foot into the basement. Then, surrounded in darkness, Bede turned and fumbled his hand across the wall until he found a light switch. When he flicked it on, light immediately flooded the room, and Gloria’s hand instantly disappeared from Bede’s right shoulder.

“There’s the box,” he pointed to the blue decoration bin in the corner—just where Gordie said it was, “Funny. I figured we’d have to look at least a _little_ harder to find it, but I suppose it was only set down a minute ago…”

They both strode forward to observe the box. When they popped the lid off, the inside was filled to the brim with empty presents, and miscellaneous Christmas knickknacks. Bede withdrew a Delibird figurine and two red presents from the box, and Gloria removed an unopened set of festive candles.

“So far it’s not here…” Bede muttered worriedly.

They kept taking out the items until the floor was cluttered with ornaments and wrapped boxes, but despite their efforts, there wasn’t a sign of Bede’s pink present.

“It’s just vanished…” he shook his head miserably, “I guess I just won’t have a gift for the exchange. Oh well…”

Disappointed, Gloria began returning the items to the box, “Well, we could always ask the others to help us. And who knows? Maybe it just got kicked under the couch or something?”

Bede paused, realizing that was a probable solution, “Perhaps. Regardless, let’s clean up the mess we made. I’m sure Melony would be quite irritable to find her precious decorations tossed about on the basement floor.”

“True…”

When everything was properly returned to the box, Bede took one last look around the room. Just seconds ago, the towers of cardboard boxes and tool shelves were completely invisible to his sight. A pitch black, blanket of darkness had prevented him from seeing more than a few centimeters ahead of him—not unlike his dream earlier that morning.

 _Oh right… that dream. I wonder if I should bring it up…_ he paused, remembering the words Gloria had sobbed aloud in his sleeping mind, _Probably not, but there’s something else I want to ask._

“Champion, may I ask you something?”

Slapping the lid back in place, she glanced up at him, “What is it?”

He paused, formulating his words carefully, “I just happened to notice you’ve acted quite familiarly with me as of late. But if I recall, the two of us are mere acquaintances. What brought on this sudden interest of yours?”

She hesitated, “That’s a genuine question, Bede. Why—have I been bothering you?”

He paused, unwilling to answer her question, “I’ve just been wondering if you’re only talking to me because Hop’s not around.”

He realized the moment he brought up Hop’s name, he shouldn’t have. Her eyes flashed a look of hurt before turning dim with recollection. She mustered a soft: “Ah…” before turning completely reticent to Bede’s question.

 _I shouldn’t have asked…_ he cursed himself.

“I’ll be honest, there’s some truth to that.” he looked up, surprised she had the guts to admit those words to his face, “But please don’t take it the wrong way—I genuinely want to get to know you better! You’re always so distant and reserved… I couldn’t help but wonder if you were a little lonely.”

_You should know better than anyone that being alone does not equivalate loneliness._

He voiced this out loud, but with more tact: “Lonely? Oh don’t be ridiculous, Champion. I always took you for a fellow introvert until recently. You should know I’m perfectly happy being by myself for days on end.”

“Okay, but everyone should have at least a _couple_ friends. Don’t you agree? If not for camaraderie, at _least_ for connections.”

 _That_ he could agree with, and it stung when he realized how few people he was actually close to.

“You’ve got a good point there…” he admitted begrudgingly.

Gloria nodded, satisfied she could humor his question, and then gestured to the exit.

“Anyways, the others are waiting for us. Let’s go upstairs since your present clearly isn’t here.”

“Might as well.”

They turned for the stairs, but just as they were about to ascend the steps, Gloria halted at the bottom. Rolling his eyes, Bede turned to face her.

“Oh come on—the stairs aren’t even that dark,” he complained, a little too exasperated.

“H-huh? N-n-no I’m not looking at the stairs it’s just—” her eyes flitted up to the doorway, her face so pink it reminded him of his missing present.

“It’s just… what?” he asked, glancing up at the doorway.

_Oh._

There was a tiny decoration taped on top of the archway, and though Bede had never seen it himself before, he assumed it must’ve been a branch of mistletoe. Otherwise, Gloria had no reason to react the way she did.

Bede shrugged, completely unfazed by it. After all, they just had to ignore it—there wasn’t a life or death rule forcing them to kiss, after all.

 _I’ve never even kissed anyone before,_ he realized suddenly, glancing at Gloria’s flushed face.

“Whatever,” he finally managed, deciding it wise to cut off his own thoughts before he read too deep into things, “Let’s just go upstairs. Not like we _have_ to—”

“But I mean—it is a tradition right?” she bumbled awkwardly, “That’s not saying we have to—but we better not tell anyone we broke the rules or they’ll tease us.”

Their eyes met for a moment, and for some reason Bede’s face went horribly red. The timing was impeccable—somehow her gaze had caught him when he was weak, and tore into his racing heartrate. Intrusive thoughts were billowing around in his brain, reminding and taunting him that yes, he had never dated, or kissed, or even _liked_ a girl, and now was an excuse or rather an _opportunity_ to check one of those off his list.

Her head cocked to the side a tiny bit as he blushed, “Bede?”

“I… have a cold, so…” was all he managed to say.

Silence filled the air between them.

“What does that have to do with anythi—”

Suddenly he coughed again, but it was just like earlier with his skates, meaning his cough had nothing to do with his cold, “Let’s just go already…”

“O-okay…”

As they climbed up the stairs, they turned off the lights and finally reentered the kitchen to indulge in the sweets and hot cocoa. Then, when satisfied, the group moved into the front room to pass out their gifts. Kabu joined them minutes before anything got started, and Bede finally decided to check under the couch as Gloria suggested.

“Let’s see… could it really be under here?”

He blinked, stunned at what his eyes landed on. Just as she’d suggested, the pink box had been kicked a short distance underneath the couch. After letting out a sigh of relief, Bede withdrew it and held it up in the air victoriously.

“Finally! Ugh this stupid thing has caused me so much worry…”

“Oh? What happened to it?” Nessa asked.

“It’s a long story, but basically I lost my exchange gift. Turns out it was under the couch the whole time.”

“Good thing you found it! Otherwise someone wouldn’t have a gift,” Milo added, grinning.

The exchange began shortly afterwards. Gordie went first since he was the person who organized the party, and took Raihan’s gift from the center of the pile. It was long and round like a tube—likely some sort of poster. Surely enough, when Gordie tore off the paper, the present was revealed to be just that. A Hammerlocke poster.

“Woah this is cool!” he marveled, “Nice choice Raihan!”

Raihan grinned proudly, “I woulda’ snagged one of myself, but I kinda had the feeling you guys aren’t as obsessed with me as I am,” he joked, sending a ripple of chuckles around the room.

They proceeded to unwrap the gifts in clockwise order from there. Bede, fourth in line, picked Kabu’s gift, and revealed a league brand thermos inside.

“I hate to get something so nice because I know someone’ll steal it…” Bede sighed, making Kabu smile proudly for a moment at his choice.

Then, sixth down, it was Gloria’s turn. Out of the eleven people participating, six presents were still sitting in the center. So far, Raihan, Bea, Nessa, Kabu, and Gloria’s presents had all been taken. Still remaining were Piers, Marnie, Bede, Gordie, Allister, and Milo’s.

Gloria observed the grouping carefully, wondering what each of the presents could possibly hold inside.

“Well, I know what Marnie brought, and I know it’s cool, but I want to open something else just because…” she hesitated, then withdrew Bede’s present from the pile.

“Mine?”

She grinned, “Of course! After spending all that time helping you look for it, I just can’t wait to know what’s inside!”

He grimaced, suddenly worried now more than ever of the possibility Opal had stuck in a gag gift, “Well that’s fine, but just so you know—even _I_ don’t know what’s in there.”

Ignoring him, Gloria tore off the foil wrapping paper excitedly, and tossed open the flaps of the cardboard box. Then, slowly, a growing look of shock falling over her face, she withdrew a soft object.

It was a plushie. Of himself.

The pause in the room was awkward enough to snuff out the sun.

“Uh… interesting choice, Bede.” Raihan laughed, causing Bede’s cheeks to burn.

He let his face fall to his hands.

_You blasted old woman._

“U-uh—wait, what am I supposed to do with this?” she asked desperately.

Marnie, after finally blinking away her surprise, burst into laughter at the curious toy now in Gloria’s possession.

“Oh my gosh—I’m dying!” she wheezed, “Oh _please_ tell me it’s one of the talking ones!”

“NOOO!” Bede shouted, suddenly snapping everyone’s attention to him, “For the love of Arceus Gloria—I’m begging you, _please_ let me steal that! I c-can’t bear the humiliation—”

“Sorry Bede, but you’ve already stolen something,” Nessa reminded, “Besides—why would you want your _own_ present?”

“But this is a special case—” he insisted, spinning to face her, “I didn’t even know what was inside there! If I’da known the old bat put a plush of myself inside, I would’ve tossed it and bought something _worthwhile!_ ”

Marnie gasped and placed her hands over the toy Bede’s ears, “Oh how dare you insult him!” she gave the toy a longing look, “It’s okay little one, he didn’t mean it. Your daddy’s jus’ salty to have lost custody, is all.”

Bede glared at Marnie, but she just responded with an impish smirk.

“Pff—lost custody? Does that mean Gloria and Bede are divorced?” Piers added snidely.

Now it was Gloria’s turn to panic, “What!? D-don’t insinuate things like that! We’re not—it’s not like that at all!”

Marnie was now covering Gloria’s ears, “Stop harming my children!” then she gave Gloria a hug, “It’s alright Gloria. I’m next, so if ya’ want I can steal that from you.”

Bede groaned miserably, “I don’t know why, but somehow I think Marnie owning it is even worse…”

“Oh?” she snapped back, “What—it’s not like I’m going to use it for voodoo or somethin’. Although now that you’ve given me tha’ idea—”

“Marnie just take your turn already!” Bede urged, still hiding his face.

Bede didn’t know what to do for the rest of the gift exchange. No matter what he did, he just couldn’t stop staring at the plush sitting on Gloria’s lap. Luckily, it didn’t seem to be one of the ones with a voice chip in it, but just the thought alone of her owning such a gift was enough to make him squirm.

 _Why does it bother me so much?_ he questioned, _I mean yeah—it’s awkward._ Extremely _awkward. But I’m throwing such a hissy fit over this, when it’s not really merited._ then, as he stared at his miniature, he started to realize why it bothered him.

He could envision the tiny version of himself sitting on her bed, propped up by pillows as it stared emptily across the room. Like a camera, it would see everything with its still, embroidered eyes—whether she was resting, lounging, or even changing. It was creepy to imagine… stalkerish, even.

His throat tingled again at the thought of it, and he began to cough violently into his arm again.

“E-excuse me for a minute—” he mumbled, coughing the entire distance to the kitchen so he could grab a glass of water.

The tickling, though greatly reduced, was still present even after his drink, so he proceeded to sit down for a minute on a kitchen stool.

_Yeah, I really shouldn’t have come. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had to worry about Gloria unwrapping that terrible gift, after all…_

His voice now hoarse from coughing, Bede managed to return to the front room. On his way in, Milo asked if he was alright, to which he responded with a brisk: “Yes I’m fine.” before sitting back down in his spot on the floor.

Pretty soon after he’d returned, the exchange was over. Bede didn’t end up with his plush, but had instead walked away with a box of homemade cookies Milo had baked himself. After losing his thermos to Raihan (who likely took it out of spite), Bede’s eyes were locked on the sweets Bea had just unearthed. Even despite the intimidating look in her eyes, Bede worked up the nerve to take hold of Milo’s delicious gift—thought it cost him the plush toy Gloria revealed one turn later.

By this point, everyone was preparing to leave. Nessa, Milo, Kabu, and Gloria were all taking the next train to Motostoke (Gloria would remain on to travel to Wedgehurst). Before she could leave, however, Bede approached her one last time.

She was standing out on the front porch, checking her phone while waiting for Milo and the others to finish talking.

“So… you’re really taking that abomination home with you?” Bede sighed, glancing disgruntledly at the toy cradled under her arm.

“Well it’s not like I have much of a choice,” she laughed awkwardly, “I can always gift it to a toy drive if it bothers you so much. And I mean, at least it doesn’t talk.”

“Those are both true…”

There was a quiet pause.

“It was fun though—this Christmas party, I mean. It must’ve sucked with you having a cold, but at least we all got to see each other, right?”

“I suppose that’s true,” he commented, _Though I probably would’ve enjoyed Christmas just fine_ without _any nuisances around to tease me._

She sighed, and a little white breath of air blew in front of her face as she did so.

“Say Bede…” she asked suddenly, stepping off the porch to watch the snow as it fell all around her, “You said earlier that you like to be alone, but… has it always been that way for you?”

Surprised at the question, he thought quietly for a moment before responding, “For the most part, I’d say no actually.”

Shocked, she turned to face him again.

“I was actually quite lonely as a kid. It mentions on my league card that I was an orphan, and that much is true. I entered that lonely place when I was about six…” he paused, an unfond memory pushing into his mind, “I didn’t trust people at that age. Thanks to my ‘family’, I refused to put my faith in others. Thus, my friend count was around, well… zero.”

Bede paused for a moment, _I wonder why I’m answering this question?_

Then he sighed and shook his head, “Let me be completely honest, Gloria. I know you’re interested in befriending me for some reason; and though I’m being reluctant, I do somewhat appreciate your efforts.” he paused, “In fact… out of everyone else here, I’m glad you were the one to open up that wretched gift of mine. After all, you seemed to be the only one there who felt bad for _me_ when it was revealed. No offense to the others…”

He glanced at her, realizing her eyes were resting on him again, and his cheeks flushed.

“So um… thanks for that, I guess. I don’t know if that answers your question, but…”

She suddenly smiled, and then turned back up towards the sky.

“It’s good enough. I’m glad you had fun.”

He halted for a minute, _Wait… did I have fun?_ he glanced at Gloria again, and abruptly noticed the look of calm on her face as the snow fell.

Back then, when she’d tied his skates, he’d felt the same strange feeling. That odd, jolting flutter one would feel minutes before giving a school presentation. There was nothing in the world for Bede to be nervous about, yet just looking at her gorgeous eyes was enough to somehow seize his attention.

Yet… something felt off this time as he watched her.

Here before him, was a girl whom he’d been around for over a year now. He watched her become the champion of Galar, watched her succeed in areas Bede failed, and yet he’d done nothing to ever connect with her. He was always standing nearby as a background character to her life—an insignificant rival who likely meant very little to her.

He knew the faces she could make, and saw the masks and personalities she constructed behind the scenes, but in terms of hobbies or interests, Bede knew nothing.

He didn’t know things like her favorite color (though it was probably pink), and he didn’t know her middle name, or if she had any Pokémon as family pets—he didn’t know if she was insecure or just shy, he didn’t know if she liked sweet or spicy, and he didn’t know if she even wanted him around in the first place.

Although that last one, he wasn’t sure of _himself,_ either.

Guilt is what finally forced him to look back down at his shoes. She kept offering her friendship to him, but Bede was only playing along, and he knew it. Aware she and Hop would probably make up soon, he just couldn’t find the motivation to genuinely befriend her. After all, once Hop returns, Bede will be nothing but a distant memory; no longer needing to fill the role as “Hop’s replacement”.

Such is life, and friendship after all.

Right?

“Oooh something spicy happening out here?” someone called out.

Bede spun frantically, and glared when he saw it was Raihan teasing him again.

“Spicy? For your information, we’re waiting for the others to finish talking so we can go home.”

“Oh are you now?” Raihan grinned, “But Gloria lives all the way in Wedgehurst, doesn’t she? Why the heck are you going there, Bede?”

“Wha—I never said that!” he fumed, “We’re going to our own places of course—”

“Speaking of which, you realize where you two are standing?”

Raihan pointed up, revealing yet _another_ mistletoe decoration taped just beneath the rim of the porch roof.

The two of them gawked at it for a moment, then stared in disbelief as the other gym leaders peeked around to look at them through the front doorway.

“Augh!” Bede screamed, jumping away, “This stuff is freaking everywhere! Who did this!?”

“Oh shoot—sorry!” Gordie suddenly sprinted over and took down the decoration, “It’s all my mum’s fault again… she put mistletoe on every doorway in the house. I tried getting rid them all, but I suppose I missed a few.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that they stood under it though,” Raihan quipped, winking obnoxiously in their direction.

“Stop harassing me over this.” Bede glared again, rubbing his eyes in frustration, “I barely even know her as it is.”

Gloria glanced at the mistletoe in Gordie’s hand, and a quick smile flitted across her face. Suddenly, her eyes were glittering in the snow like a pair of shimmering rhinestones, and there was a twinge in her grin that for some reason filled Bede with dread.

_What are you doing?_

Without another pause, she tilted her head, puckered her lips, and planted a quick, soft kiss on the cheek of Bede’s plush toy.

The motion completely shattered his insides.

_I thought she was about to… do something else._

Then she was grinning, “There’s your fanservice for today, Raihan. Now leave the poor man be.”

Raihan laughed wholeheartedly, and proceeded to bop Gloria on the shoulder.

“Wow you had me in the first half champ—not gonna lie.”

Feigning a tear in her eye, Marnie also approached Gloria with a look equally mischievous as hers.

“Oh look at ma’ children—all grown up already and it’s been but a day!”

Piers raised an eyebrow at the statement, “But sis wouldn’t that be ince—”

“ANYWAY,” she interrupted, “Let’s ‘ave everyone start leavin’. Been meanin’ to celebrate back at home, but we’ve been so preoccupied today, it hasn’t happened yet.”

“Agreed! Let’s hurry out to the train station you guys,” Nessa nodded to Milo and Kabu, and the front porch cleared up so they could walk past.

Then, with a final wave, Gordie and his mother Melony thanked everyone for coming, and then closed the front door.

As Bede stood blankly on the steps of Gordie’s front porch, the other gym leaders already started making their way back to Circhester. He was still unable to process what’d just happened—the mistletoe, Gloria’s twinkling eyes, and the way she’d so casually pecked his plush on the cheek.

 _How does she do it?_ he wondered, his face suddenly growing hotter with each second, _How can she just—drop such an insinuating tease, and then walk off like nothing happened!?_

“Hey Bede! You coming or what?” a voice suddenly shouted out to him. When he looked up, he saw it was Milo—which didn’t surprise him. Milo was always the one to keep the group together.

“Uh, yeah! Sorry!” he responded lamely, “I was in a daze I guess.”

With a few quick strides, Bede was able to catch back up with everyone quite easily. Though it was cold and his social battery was spent, Bede somehow managed to keep his usual, proper act about him as the group made their way back to Circhester. Once there, Piers and Marnie split ways with the group to walk down South towards Spikemuth.

Before leaving, Marnie and Gloria exchanged a few last words.

“Sorry I forgot your Christmas present,” Marnie sighed, “I woulda’ grabbed it if we weren’t already running late. I promise I’ll get it to you sometime this week!”

Gloria grinned, “Oh don’t stress about it! After all, we can use this as an excuse to meet up for New Year’s too! By that point I’ll have your gift ready too, I hope.”

“Aw thanks girl. I’m so glad we’re buddies!”

From the background, Bede watched as the two of them chatted.

 _Funny… I don’t remember when Marnie became so talkative. Perhaps those two’ve gotten closer since Hop left, too…_ he paused, remembering her words earlier from the basement, _I suppose that means I’ll be seeing her more regularly—if that’s the case. Should I… bother myself with her?_

Mid-thought, Marnie suddenly called out to Bede.

“What?” he asked, turning at the sound of his name.

Marnie’s mouth was twisted to one side suspiciously, and there was a pensive look in her eyes as she stared at him.

“I’m not sure I approve of you just yet, is all.” she stated bluntly.

“What—approve!?” he glowered at her, “Since when do I need _your_ approval to do anything!?”

She shook her head, “I just can’t envision you hangin’ with Gloria and I without th’ mood tensin’ up by a hundred percent.”

“What? Wait—hang out with you?” he blinked incredulously at them.

“Yeah, sure!” Gloria chimed in suddenly, ignoring his visible confusion, “How about this next Tuesday? That’s the next day I’m free.”

“Excuse me—” he stammered.

“Sounds good to me! But as for Bede…” she leered sourly at him again.

“I didn’t agree to this!” he interrupted quickly, his head spinning with the sudden social invite, “I’m not—” he coughed wildly for a moment as his tongue fumbled around in his mouth, “I hardly even know you two!”

Gloria sighed and shook her head, “I’m just kidding Bede, I know.”

He stopped fumbling at her statement, and mumbled a slightly embarrassed: “Oh.”

“Besides. I was talking to mini Bede.”

He paused, her words sinking in as the smile on her cheeks grew.

“Mini what—”

“Bye Marnie! See you Tuesday!”

Marnie waved back happily, and she and her brother finally trotted out of their sight.

Then, the group was back to their normal pace towards the Hammerlocke train station. The whole way there, Gloria walked silently behind the rest of the gym leaders with Bede only a stride’s distance away. Though there were things he wanted to ask her, his brain was just too socially drained to bother anymore—especially after experiencing their doubled-up barrage of teasing.

Five whole minutes ticked by without a word from either of them. The snow by now was beginning to let up as they headed farther and father away from Circhester’s cold peak, and pretty soon they were stepping onto the bridge to Hammerlocke. Bede was in the middle of gazing at the view when Gloria’s voice suddenly caught his attention again.

“Sorry I bothered you so much today,” she interrupted suddenly.

“Huh?” he asked, surprised to hear her voice.

“I mean, it was probably a little annoying with the two of us poking at you all evening. I don’t blame you for turning down our invitation.”

He paused for a moment to formulate his response.

“I’ll admit the teasing was a bit much—though I suppose it’s suitable payback for all the suffering I put you through back in the league.”

She glanced at him as he said this, making his ears redden a bit. He hated admitting his own mistakes, but this was one of the required steps he knew he needed to take if he wanted to overcome his flaws.

“Marnie and I have gotten pretty close lately. She likes to hang out on the weekends and sing karaoke, but admittedly it’s gotten a bit repetitive,” a nostalgic smile suddenly filled her face as she recalled this, “I was just thinking we could use a fresh face with us.”

“Oh…”

They were halfway across the bridge now.

“So about our conversation earlier…” she mumbled again, fiddling with her thumbs as she approached her question, “You said you’re not the type to get lonely, right?”

He raised an eyebrow, “Still thinking about that, hm?”

“Well, it’s just…” she sighed, “Are you looking for friends at all?”

Bede’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment before he finally shook his head.

“Now’s not the time to ask me.”

As she turned disappointedly back to the bridge, Bede’s eyes once again landed back onto the distant horizon.

There were many things he didn’t want to admit about Gloria, and many things he hated himself for when they were around each other. Bede’s heart, though thoroughly chipped into by Opal’s well-meaning counseling, was not yet in the right place. When it came to friends, he’d always kept his numbers minimal. It made sense—fewer attachments meant fewer chances of being double-crossed or left behind; but it was also the loneliest path to take in life.

He knew, though he’d changed a lot since the start of his journey, that he was still immature when it came to friendships. Gloria was so pure-hearted—so well-meaning and understanding, he couldn’t bring himself to pretend they were friends. He knew if it was going to happen, it needed to happen naturally without even the slightest hint of doubt.

He couldn’t reach out to her yet and feign concern for her well-being. Not when he didn’t mean it. Doing that was a cruel thing—after all, it’s what Rose did to him.

He’d been manipulated, deceived, cheated, and even left behind by people he thought cared about him. Of course he was reluctant to give friendship another chance. Though, after witnessing the aftermath of Gloria’s falling out with her best friend Hop, Bede was conflicted.

 _That’s what happens when you get too close to somebody,_ he chastised, _It always ends with someone getting screwed over._

Yet there was another part of him that sympathized with her.

 _Even the champion has occasional friend trouble. I suppose everyone is human…_ then he’d pause and remember his own experiences, _I doubt anyone else could express empathy in the way that I could. Yet…_

It always ended with his own pride.

He couldn’t give up his ways—after all, he was the one who built them. Walls were meant to protect, so what good would they do if he let them down?

He didn’t want to know just yet.

So as Gloria stepped onto the train, he managed a polite wave, and that was all.

Though as she waved goodbye through the window, he watched her hands fumble on the plush figure of himself. At first he stood blankly, an eyebrow raised as he wondered what she was doing. Then, in the most Gloria way he knew, she returned her mischievous grin to her cheeks, and pinched mini Bede’s hand, and waved goodbye to him using the toy’s tiny, fabric palm.

_What the heck?_

It was shocking because he was lost in thought. The notion was so unexpected, the slim line he’d had across his face all day finally cracked into a brief but genuine smile. From his lips, a short puff of air resembling a restrained laugh squeezed past his cheeks before he could stop it, and he immediately turned away to avoid her seeing him.

_That’s not even funny, but why am I laughing?_

He placed a hand over his mouth and snickered for a moment—stopping only when that snicker evolved into another coughing fit. After he’d composed himself and managed to turn back towards her, Gloria once again caught Bede off guard.

The whistle blew, and the train was beginning to move—but he’d already seen it. Across her face was the most sweet smile he’d seen from her all day. Her cheeks scrunched and her mouth broad in an endearing c-shaped curve, she left Bede feeling jittery once again.

Even more so as she mouthed her parting word through the window.

“Gotcha.”

-END OF CHRISTMAS SPECIAL-


End file.
